BOSS kicked off its stompbox line in 1977 with the OD-1 Overdrive, and this baby–the TE-2–has the distinction of being the company’s 100thpedal, That’s righteously coo[, but the Tera Echo adds dynamic sensitivity and a Freeze function that makes it not only a record holder, but also a truly wickeddelay, bossus.com

BOSS DA-2 Adaptive Distortion – $129 street

Boss demo wizard Rob Marcello did an awesome run-through of the DA-2’s features at NAMM. In addition to good distortion tones, thepedaldelivers unreal string-to-string articulation–even when the buzz is cranked. As with the TE-2, dynamic response was excellent. You can vary overdrive and distortion sounds simply by picking softer or harder, bossus.com

Providing a fresh take on loop switchers, thePedalPalette not only gives you four loops with relay bypass switches, it lets you assign loops to a parallel mix bus (with individual level controls), instantly swap the order ofpedals(e.g., wah before/after fuzz), store and recall up to 128 presets (including via MIDI), and allow reverb anddelayto decay naturally using the Trails function. decibe111.com

DigiTech JamMan Solo XT – $199 street

Although this latest version of the Solo features some attractive upgrades, including twice as many internal memory slots as the previous model, DigiTech‘s new JamSync function is its claim to fame. Multiple Solo XTs may be synchronized for multi-track looping by an individual or for synchronized ensemble looping by two or more players–a milestone that opens up lots of fresh possibilities, digitech.com

DigiTech Adrian Belew ImpossiblePedal – $20 direct

That Big Electric Cat Belew put his ImpossiblePedalthrough its paces at an early morning press conference, blowing more than one mind. The first in DigiTech’s new series of iStomp Signature Artist e-pedals; it puts two interval-shifters underfoot, allowing you to rapidly leap between pitches Belew-style. digitech.com

Dunlop Fuzz Face Minis – $99 each street

I love, love, love fuzz, looking for the best fuzz pedal and now, thanks to the miracle of miniaturization, I can fit three different Fuzz Faces on my pedalboard. The FFM1 Silicon delivers that ’70s aggro buzz, the FFM2 Germanium goes for some late ’60s beef, and the FFM3 Jimi Hendrix provides the master’s thick and ballsy fuzz. They’re also really cute little things if you’re into pedalboard aesthetics, jimdunlop.com

Dwarfcraft Pitchgrinder – $350 direct

I loved this newpedal, which, besides being Dwarfcraft’s first foray into the digital realm, is an 8-bit, 8-step pitch-shifter/sequencer/bit smasher with a tap-tempo footswitch that also functions as a momentary “single-stepper/freeze” switch. The range is -1/+2 octaves, and a Glide switch lets you move between the pitches in even wackier ways. dwarfcraft.com

EarthQuaker Devices Disaster Transport SR – $345 direct

Lots of manufacturers have sought to capture old-school echo magic in a digitaldelaypedal, but few efforts have been as successful as this. The Disaster Transport SR’s twodelays–one coupled with modulation and the other with reverb–produce a thick, vibe-y, vintage sound that can be manipulated in very cool ways via the Bleed function, three footswitches, and an optional expressionpedal, earthquakerdevices.com

One of my favoritepedalsat the show, this one-knob unit serves as a sort of “best of” for Eventide’s other four stompboxes (15 algorithms from thosepedalsare included, along with the new Ultra TapDelay, and others may be purchased). The Bluetooth-equipped H9 may also be programmed and controlled via a GUI that runs on IOS devices. Stereo I/O, expressionpedal/ aux switch jacks, and MIDI ports complete the package. eventide.com

Ibanez Echo Shifter $149 street

To be honest, they had me with the awesome slider that controls thedelaytime, but this cool-looking box has a Lot more going for it. Bucket-brigade technology, tap tempo, modulation, and an oscillation switch make it easy to get nice, warm-sounding normaldelaysas well as crazy, runaway, warbly echoes from hell Count me in. ibanez.co.jp

MXR M222 talk box $169 street

Gotta love a pedalboard friendly talk box that Lets you get all Frampton and Bon Jovi without any hassles. The compact M222 includes its own amp and speaker, and also offers Volume, Tone, and Gain knobs for some wild sound sculpting. Dunlop’s Bryan Kehoe did a hilarious and instructive demo at NAMM that immediately had me thinking of ways to use the M222 for tonal annihilation of the ordinary, jimdunlop.com

Pigtronix Quantum Time Modulator – $TBA

Billed as “a musical analogy to the essential nature of reality itself,” this three-knob/one-switch wonder warps temporal reality with an array of independently clocked bucket-brigadedelayLines modulated by a confluence of envelope and LFO sources, resulting in a stunning sonic phenomena evoking DynaFlangers, Spatial Expanders, Dimension Ds, and beyond, pigtronix.com

Radial PZ-DI – $219 street

Using input-impedance matching voodoo, the PZ-DI optimizes frequency response and dynamics when an acoustic instrument is plugged into its input. During Peter Janis’ demo at NAMM, the box certainly tamed piezo quack, making an acoustic-electric guitar sound simultaneously warm, smooth, and sparkly–as if miked with a darn good microphone. A simple and elegant solution for producing great acoustic sounds for stage and studio, radialeng.com

Radial Voco-Loco – $300

This is totally whack, but weird enough to be a secret weapon. The Voco-Loco lets you run dynamic and condenser microphones through guitar effects to produce some uniquely bizarre vocal effects for live performance and studio recordings. It’s a marriage of the sacred and the profane! Let your imagination run wild. radialeng.com

Source Audio Orbital Modulator – $169 street

This is an insanely flexible, killer sounding mod box that not only gives you chorus, phase, flange, rotary, and trem flavors, but it also Lets you use tremolo in addition to the other effects. The results run the gamut from classic to otherworldly, with a ton of parameters to tweak along the way. And, speaking of tweaking, you can use thispedalwith Source’s awesome Hot Hand ring controller and seriously blow minds, seurceaudio.net

TC Electronic TonePrint Editor – Free

Why should artists like Joe Perry, John 5, Bumble-foot, and Guthrie Govan have all the fun? This free software (available for both Mac and PC) now allows guitarists to create their own custom versions of effects for TC’s TonePrintpedals, including programming the ranges and behavior of all of a given pedal’s virtual controls, and auditioning the results in real time. tcelectronic.com

Wampler Faux Tape Echo – $219 street

What is the best delay pedal? You’ll find the answer. Thisdelaydefinitely had people talking at the show. It’s Wampler’s take on the age-old question of how to get analog-style warmth and vibe in adelaywith modern, digital-approved features. They seem like they nailed it, with sweet tones that you can keep in time with tap tempo plus the super-cool Movement and Sway knobs. Bitchin’! wamplerpedals.com

Zoom A3 – $199 street

To say the A3 is an acoustic preamp is like saying a NASCAR racer is a Fiat 500. Sure, it offers 40 effects and anti-feedback control, but, even hipper, it also lets you “re-imagine” the sound of your acoustic with ]6 different body models. Make your dreadnought sound awesome, or transform your jumbo into a parlor guitar. Dig the tonal massive power! zoom.co.jp

Zoom MS 100-BT MultiStomp – $149 street

Okay, you want your space-age, futuristic, Dick Tracy-style gadget? Thispedalcomes with 92 effects and eight amp models, lets you buy new effects for $0.99, Lets you try them out for 15 minutes for free to see if you like them, and then loads them into thepedalfrom your freaking phone wirelessly via Bluetooth. Uhh … I’m kind of impressed. zoom.co.jp